Butternut Squash Ricotta Pierogi with Brown Butter Hazelnut Sauce

These Butternut Squash Ricotta Pierogi with Brown Butter Hazelnut Sauce are the perfect fall meal. The dumplings are stuffed with a slightly sweet ricotta butternut filling and then served with crispy hazelnuts and sage.

And just like that, we’ve moved on from summer flavors like tomatoes and corn to hearty fall flavors like sage and butternut. I know a lot of people are bummed about summer coming to a close but fall is my favorite season so I can’t wait for sweater weather, apple picking, and all the changing leaves.

It’s been a bit quiet from me over here as I focus my attention on a few things behind the scenes. The big endeavor I’ve taken on is finally tackling how to shoot, edit, and work with video which has been even more time consuming than I could have imagined. I know it will be 100% worth it in the end but learning a whole new skill set (with all new equipment) can be all consuming (especially trying to master it enough to feel comfortable sharing it on here). Anyhow, more updates on that in the coming weeks (with hopefully a few videos!!).

Now let’s talk about these fall periogi! If you are new to pierogi (which you shouldn’t be if you’ve been around here before), they are a polish dumpling that can be stuffed with anything but traditionally are usually filled with potato and sauerkraut. Growing up, my family had a tradition of making these at least a few times a year and we’d always make one batch of traditional and one batch of something fun and unique.

The process of making them is similar to ravioli and my instructions do involved a special press. If you don’t have that press, you can free form it by rolling out the dough and cutting circular hole into it (probably with the rim of a glass) that you can then stuff and fold over.

The slightly sweet filling compliments the earthy sage and butter perfectly. I used organic canned pureed butternut squash (similar to when you buy organic canned pumpkin) to cut down on prep time. I also added black sesame seeds at the end for an extra crunch (and because they looked pretty) but they are completely optional and this dish would still be fantastic without them.

If eating them all right away, boil them and then saute in butter. If not, just boil them and then freeze for later use. They should last up to three months in the freeze.

Now what are you waiting for? Go make these on a rainy day, during date night, or just because you are craving some fall flavors!

These Butternut Squash Ricotta Pierogi with Brown Butter Hazelnut Sauce are the perfect fall meal. The dumplings are stuffed with a slightly sweet ricotta butternut filling and then served with crispy hazlenuts and sage.

Course:
Main Course

Cuisine:
Vegetarian

Servings: 8servings

Calories: 521kcal

Ingredients

For the dough

6cupsflour

1Tbspsalt

1/2cupwhole milk

6Tbspunsalted butter

1egg

For the filling

115 oz canpureed butternut squash

1cupricotta

2tspbrown sugar

1/2tspsalt

1/4tspnutmeg

Evrything else:

1/4cuphazelnutslightly toasted and chopped

4-6Fresh sage leaves

unsalted butterfor sauteing

1 Tbspblack sesame seedsfor garnish (optional)

Freshly grated hard cheesefor garnish (optional)

Instructions

For the dough:

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, milk, cold butter, and eggs and pulse until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if the dough is too sticky. Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, if the dough is too crumbly. (You may have to make the dough in two batches, depending on the size of your food processor.)

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into four equal pieces. Wrap the dough pieces in a damp kitchen towel and set aside.

For the filling:

Whisk together all of the filling ingredients. Set aside until ready to use.

Assembly:

Working with two pieces of dough at a time, roll the dough into two rectangles that are about 1/8 in [4 mm] thick each. Lay one rectangle dough piece over the pierogi press, fill each pierogi indentation with 1 Tbsp filling and place the other dough rectangle directly over the top. Push a rolling pin over the dough to seal the dumplings and turn the pierogi press over so the pierogi fall out of the press, removing any excess dough. Continue with the remaining filling and dough.

To cook:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Working in batches, add enough pierogi to fit in a single layer and boil until they float to the surface, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pierogi with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter. Working in batches, toss in 12 pierogi or enough pierogi to fill the pan in a single layer. Cook, stirring often, until the pierogi are brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Toss the sage into the pan during the last minute of sauteing. Repeat with the remaining butter and pierogi. Serve immediately.

December 6, 2017

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November 24, 2017

4 Comments

Abby @ Heart of a Baker

September 29, 2017

I still haven’t tackled making homemade pierogi yet, but I really need to! It’s crazy how learning a new skill can throw off your daily mindset and comfort, but it’s all good! I am excited to see your videos, I bet they will be gorgeous!

Melissa Griffiths

Jessica

November 27, 2017

I made this last week and had a really hard time with the dough. With the ingredients I used there was no where near enough liquid to get close to something resembling a dough. (I fixed with my mom’s pierogi recipe on written on a note card!) The filling and everything else was good, but the hazelnuts seemed out of place — next time I might try incorporating them into the butter (like the title suggests).